UK niche line Bella Bellissima has launched the Essence of Oud collection, comprising four new fragrances: Black Ebony, White Leather, Royal Saffron and Precious Amber.
Pure parfum creations inspired by the ancient mysteries of Arabia…a land of epic odysseys of discovery and timeless tales of love and adventure.
These finely crafted, opulent fragrances of extraordinary depth and beauty capture the most precious ingredients treasured since the dawn of time.
At the heart of every Essence of Oud scent lies the deep, dark, seductive note of pure agarwood oil — the secret Wood of the Gods.
Complex and compelling, this distinctive aphrodisiac is blended with rich eastern essences, delicate florals, exotic resins, cherished woods and rare spices to create long–lasting intense perfumes that celebrate the power of Oud.
British fine fragrance house Bella Bellissima combines the mystique of perfumery with a signature modern flourish to create covetable, multi–faceted scents of distinction. Intricate blends of the finest rare essences in their purest form, each unique fragrance is an intoxicating experience, capturing cherished memories, leaving a lingering impression.
Black Ebony ~ woody, floral and smoky, with notes of incense, cardamom, cumin, bourbon, vetiver, rose, patchouli, cedarwood, agarwood, oud wood, papyrus, musk, tonka bean and leather.
White Leather ~ fruity, floral and amber-y, with guava blossom, cedar leaves, aromatic green agreste, white cedar, orris, midnight jasmine, rose, patchouli, agarwood, oud wood, leather, sandalwood, amber, moss and vanilla.
Royal Saffron ~ a spicy floral woods, with saffron, green leaves, violet leaves, clove, rose, jasmine, lavender, carnation, agarwood, oud wood, sandalwood, patchouli, papyrus, gurjan balsam, soft musk and leather.
Precious Amber ~ a woody amber, with honeyed date, bigarade, orange, rose, geranium, orris, papyrus, rose, jasmine, guaicwood, patchouli, agarwood, oud wood, amber, civette, leather, cedar, incense and sandalwood.
Bella Bellissima Essence of Oud collection Black Ebony, White Leather, Royal Saffron and Precious Amber are available now at Selfridges in the UK, 100 ml each (£96-108).
(via selfridges)
Pretty bottle. I have a lake of spicy, rose-oud fragrances that I adore and I’m tempted by yet another one (Incense Oud by Killian) but it seems like the market is thoroughly saturated with oud and yet lines keep releasing whole collections based on it. Killian still has a couple more in their line including an amber-oud like this one. I’m really trying not to get cranky about it but I am considering the new Prada (?) Candy as an antidote. 🙂
It is hard NOT to be cranky…for heaven’s sake, enough with the oud already folks.
Oud – the perfumista’s fruity floral.
I have to say I’m disappointed that VC&A is adding Precious Oud to the Collection Extraordinaire. Do you think Chanel or Hermes will add an oud to their exclusive lines, too?
I wouldn’t be as cranky if people were just quietly using oud a lot. But it’s always this big announcement like they’ve found this fabulous new thing.
That said, these sound pretty nice. Don’t know the line at all, though.
Agree totally — don’t have to put it in the name or make it the focus.
Perhaps statistically there are always
1. enough people to suddenly become interested and go ‘oud’ that sounds exotic – and intriguing.
2. And, sufficiently well-briefed sales-assistants to regurgitate something about Arabian royalty.
That results in enough sales to justify the marketing angle. And hopefully the economics work out well enough to allow the perfumiers to go on with their alchemy!
Looking forward to Candy as well, NM called yesterday to say they could not overnight it to me because it contains alcohol….;-(
Yes, and if you select “free shipping” they use FedEx Express which is actually the opposite of express.
I need to get over to NM this week, I want to smell it too.
I have a thing for ebony, so the Black Ebony got my attention…
These sound lovely and ……well……maybe 2 years ago interesting. *Yawn*…..any ideas on what the “new” thing in market saturation will be? Lots of “new” takes on chypres lately. Maybe the challenge of trying to do them w/out any oakmoss? I’ve been out of touch lately so if anything is currently “trending” I’m afraid I’ve ….shamefully……missed it! ( I am wearing Un Lys for the first time in quite awhile and am wondering why I don’t wear this more often.)
Why do they list both agarwood and oud in the notes when it’s the same thing?
Probably in case you know one word & not the other.
Its odd that they don’t then put it in brackets by the more ‘technical’ name then. I think I’v seen this formatting done with ingredients too and its misleading.
Tried Ebony in Selfridges today on me and rest of the range including new incense oud on paper strips,
It was all divine. The Ebony smelled a bit like pencil shavings on paper but on my body developed in nice dark resinous woods with a slight floral tone. The dry down reminded me of Black afgano, I think because of common ‘wood’ theme. Black Afgano feels on the face when you spray but the Ebony developes more nicely.
It is also much cheaper compared to Black Afgano.
I am happy to post these to USA and other countries with a few exceptions if anybody wants to buy them. I will buy and post them for a small profit of course 🙂
or happy to get smaller sized amounts – splitting if anyone is interested